>> live and in hd, this is abc "news at noon," on your side. >> good afternoon. it is the 11th hour on capitol hill. when the club kids midnight, our country has hit the fiscal cliff. that is unless lawmakers can reach a deal today. john gonzalez has the latest on the efforts to make some sort of

compromise. >> you can see the countdown clock on the bottom of your screen, counting down the new year and the dreaded fiscal cliff. there are reports this afternoon that there is a mini deal in the works that could spare millions of families from tax increases. after frustrating weekend, it's looks like negotiators are closing in on a deal with only hours to spare, a deal that would extend the current tax breaks for households making up to $450,000 and keeps the estate tax at upper level >> . congress is your under duress even with the people they love, themselves, special-interests. >> it appears to be a temporary bandaged and also extend unemployment benefits and delays the automatic spending cuts to the pentagon and domestic programs by three months. crack at some point you just want to not pay attention to it. >> others are more optimistic.

>> hopefully, they will figure it out next year. we have options if we go over the fiscal cliff. >> mitch mcconnell and senate democrats hit a stalemate on the weekend and he met twice today with the vice-president. >> i am willing to get this done, but i need a dance partner. >> the deal is tenuous and needs to get through a republican- controlled house as a countdown of a different kind chris closer, that is set to trigger a broad tax increases and drastic cuts. our top priority has to be to make sure taxes on middle-class families don't go up. that would hurt our economy badly. >> this afternoon it appears we are very close to a deal. if not, an average american family will start the new year with a $3,400 tax hike. here's hoping there's a reason to raise your glass in a post tonight and a sigh of relief. john gonzalez, abc 7 news. >> you can get the latest on

efforts to reach a fiscal cliff steel throughout the day. wjla.com. we will have full coverage at 5:00. happening right now, developing news out of new york. secretary of state hillary clinton is in the hospital this afternoon. she is big news for blood clots. t-fal in her home earlier this month and suffered a concussion. during a follow-up exam, doctors discovered the blood clot. if she was committed to new york presbyterian hospital testicles. doctors are treating her with a blood thinner. the treatment suggests that mrs. clinton will be ok. >> if you have a bleeding in your head, you would not put someone on anti-coagulant for treatment. they said they expect her to be in the hospital 48 hours. >> this is the second time mrs. clinton has suffered a blood clot. in 198898 she was hospitalized for blood clots behind her knee.

the philadelphia eagles have fired their head coach andy reed. the owner says it's time for them to move in a new direction. he was not the only one fire today. they let go of smith. the -- the bears got lovie smith. more on that at 5:00 tonight. a long-awaited trip to the post- season, but rgiii has helped the redskins to the playoffs. the fans are looking ahead to the weekend. brianne carter reports. >> on a day synonymous with celebrating, redskins fans are off to an early start. >> we are having a lot of fun. we're very excited. >> the redskins beat the cowboys sunday night 28-18, earning a

division championship for the first time in more than a decade. >> we have won seven in a row and are in the playoffs. lookout, seattle. >> patrons in silver spring filling up on breakfast and many still filled with excitement from last night's game. >> the redskins carrying it out the rest of the way. >> jim believes the young players on this team have what it takes to win enough games to get to the super bowl. >> you don't give up on nothing as a fan. the burgundy and gold now is really good. >> newness has worked at the diner more than 50 years -- eunice. she said that she felt like she was in heaven last night watching. >> it's great. i'm on top of the world. >> the redskins will play host next weekend. the seattle seahawks will be in town for the redskins' first

playoff game since 2007. brianne carter abc 7 news. >> we want you to get in on the action. if you are celebrating a big victory, as a video. we want to hear and see you singing ""hail to the redskins." so e-mail a short video clip and we will play it later this week. coming up, we will check out some of the championship merchandise that is also not for sale -- now for sale. saturday's early games include the cincinnati bengals against the houston texans. and the late game is a rematch between the vikings and the packers. this one is green bay. the the ravens will play the indianapolis colts at 1:00 on sunday. and the redskins are hosting seattle at 4:30. we started out with a beautiful sunrise this morning, but the clouds are slowly creeping into the metro region. let's check in with jacqui jeras for the forecast. >> if you missed the sunrise, we

caught it on our time lapse and will show it to you shortly. right now, the clouds have arrived. it still seems kind of bright, 38 degrees being the temperature in washington, d.c. our satellite picture shows the clouds will continue moving in. we could see a few sprinkles or snow flurries this evening. the main event really happens tomorrow. this is a weak system bringing snow across the central plains and mississippi river valley today. things are looking good up and down the eastern seaboard. today, partly sunny skies 45 x 3:00 claudia 6:00 and 39 degrees at the midnight hour. we will have more details on the timing of that system, in a little while. first, back to the news desk with scott. >> montgomery county fire fighters or call to rescue some duck hunters in great falls.

there were on the water this morning near katie island. after they got out of the boats it drifted away and they were stuck. firefighters eventually reached the hunters, secure their boats and no one was hurt. d.c. police looking for the driver of an suv who hit and killed a teenager. a 16-year-old tarsha jackson was crossing the garrett avenue at first street nw when she was hit by a car friday night. was she was lying on the road, she was hit by a second vehicle. the driver of the car remained, but the suv driver kept going. she was rushed to the hospital but died of injuries over the weekend. investigators are speaking out about a bus crash in oregon that left nine tourists dead. this happened yesterday at a dangerous mountain pass on an already icy interstate. the driver of the bus lost control, skidded into a guardrail, and then plummeted down 100 foot embankment. the steep, with terrain made it very difficult to reach the survivors. >> there was so much snow on

the ground that it made its treacherous. so we used a haul system to get the patients from the car site back up to the highway. >> there were returning to vancouver after a tour. the owner of the bus company has not commented yet. police in montgomery county have canceled their silver alert this known. they had been looking for 77- year-old mrs. tyler after she was last seen yesterday morning in gaithersburg. u.s. found unharmed this morning in virginia. coming up, for many of us, keeping new year's resolutions can be a challenge, but we will show you some ways to use your smartphone to stay on track. and the new year means big changes for some same-sex couples in maryland. new laws go into effect tomorrow but not for everyone. plus with a playoff spot secured, the rush is on for redskins fans to get their hands on team colors as quickly as they can.

meanwhile, a live look outside. gorgeous morning with

>> you are watching abc 7 "news at noon," on your side. >> overseas, a lot of the celebrating is already under way. we have live pictures of the vatican, where you can see services for this new year, 2013. pope benedict walking up to the altar. we still have less than 12 hours on the east coast before we celebrate the new year, but people all around the world are enjoying 2013 already. >> [[cheers and applause]

] >> fireworks at sydney harbour at the opera house. the celebrations in wellington were canceled because of dangerously high wins. in south korea, a large bell that marked the start of 2013 was wrong. it was used to keep time for the ruling emperor. now it is wrong on late at midnight on new year's column total of 33 times. the start of the new year means a big change for one popular magazine. newsweek's final print issue hits the newsstands today. cover features a picture, of the newsmagazine's former offices in new york with a telling deadlineheadline. it cannot afford to stay in print and will be on line only, next year. and it's a new beginning for

many couples in maryland. same-sex couples or will be able to get married in maryland starting tomorrow. baltimore city hall will be open at midnight, but most couples will have to wait until the second to officially tied the knot because of the new year holiday. the referendum was passed in november. a celebration of another kind in the washington area today. if you've not heard, the redskins have claimed the nfc east title and are headed to the playoffs. as jummy olabanji reports, the race is on for the fans to get decked out in the burgundy and gold./ >> as soon as the game clock ran out at fedex field, people across the d.c. area began celebrating the redskins big win. early this morning, area sports stores began unpacking shipments of brand new nfc east champion merchandise. in bethesda they had t-shirts hats, and tennis. store managers tell us they had several calls from eager redskins fans before they even open this morning.

the team has been on its winning streak the burgundy and gold apparel has been flying off store shelves. folks have had no problem showing their pride and shelling out money to do so. at this t-shirt-printing company in lanham, maryland, the t- shirts are coming right off the presses. these went into printing early this morning. the artwork was finished saturday night before the game was over. after last night's victory employees quickly went to work to get the shirts printed and shipped out. these t-shirts is licensed by the nfl players association./ it features recorded vaccination robert griffin but also highlights several other players including fletcher evan moss moss, and morris. >> r.g. iii would say it's about the team. he would probably like this shirt. >> these t-shirts and you see

will be available at the sports zone and giant grocery stores across d.c., maryland, and virginia. those printing shirts say that if you want one, you better get one soon, because they are expecting to sell out. jummy olabanji reporting. >> we don't like to gloat too much after a big win. maybe just a little. that's why we are going to show you these images. this is the front page of the dallas morning news. that is tony romo lake in the third quarter. it marked the end of the dallas season. this is the third straight year the cowboys have missed the playoffs. >> so sad. >> of course. there are a lot of cowboys fans in our area. we notcannot completely ostracized them. what are you wearing tonight for new year's eve? >> the clouds have been moving in. that will keep us a little warmer, so we will not drop below freezing.

that's good news. upper 30's, not terrible. if you missed it this morning, i promise you could see it. there isit is, the sunrise. when you get the high, thin clouds with the sunrise, it creates a gorgeous sunrises. a lot of people might miss that while sleeping this morning. 38 degrees is the temperature right now, 34 in dulles, 36 in manassas, 31 in hagerstown, 34 in frederick at this hour. temperatures are colder than this time yesterday by about 5 degrees. 10 degrees colder in some spots. temperatures will warm up into the mid 40's across the mid- atlantic states. arctic air is moving down across the midwest. this eventually will make its way into the northeast. no big blasts of cold air on the way for us.

tomorrow is january 1. what can we expect? on average for snowfall we generally have 5.6 inches in january. high-temperature on average of 43.4 degrees. the overall temperature around 36. something to keep in mind. skies were pretty clear this morning and the clouds started moving in. moister moving in already. most of this will not reached the ground. we cannot rule out a sprinkle or snow flurry by this evening. but the main event will be moving in by tomorrow. overall, this will be a weak system. it will bring us a wintry mix. 1 to 4 inches in st. louis and indianapolis. no accumulations for us. maybe some snowflakes. 30% chance you will notice the clouds more than anything else. the earnings will clear out. a decent start to the new year.

today, expecting increasing clouds, high temperature between 42 and 46. maybe a sprinkle or snow flurries this evening. cloudy and quiet tonight, upper 30's at midnight. we will drop into the low to mid 30's by tomorrow morning. there's a 40% chance of a wintry mix for your new year's day. then a little colder than average to end the week, but we have sunshine to go along with it. a much calmer weather pattern once we get through tomorrow. >> a little brisk, that's all. >> could be a lot worse. >> thank you. coming up, a look at some apps to

captioned by the national captioning institute --www.ncicap.org-- >> 7 is on your side with some new smartphone apps to keep you on track of your new year's resolutions. one keeps you in touch with local doctors to answering all questions. if you are looking to get organized, there is an address book that compiles a digital profile of all your contacts

from facebook, twitter and other website spirited goes beyond names and faces. it has interests and personal details. and yap is a service that lets you build your own goal-oriented application and then share it with friends. the head honcho of playboy is bringing in the new year with sprwedding bells. hugh hefner and crystal are looking to get married at the playboy mansion in beverly hills. they had plans to get married in june of 2011, but then she called it off. this time around, she says she's ready and the relationship is better than ever. and a new edition is on the way for rapper kanye west and his girlfriend kim kardashian. west announced last night at a concert that the two have a baby on the way. a denied similar rumors in the past. now the word is out that kim kardashian is pregnant.

she is still legally married to nba player chris humphries although she filed for divorce more than a year ago. that was 72 days after their wedding. still ahead, the weather.

>> breaking news regarding the negotiations on the fiscal cliff. according to the associated press, the contour is of a deal are emerging that would raise

tax rates on couples making over $450,000 per year and would raise the estate tax rates and extend unemployment benefits for one year. all this according to officials familiar with negotiations. an australian surfer is counting his blessings after a close call. let's roll video while we talk. there is. a shark attacked him just feet away from the shore. a seven-foot shark. a guy lost a finger recently. >> a different guy? >> a different one. how is it looking? pretty decent today, partly sunny this afternoon, highs in the mid 30's. a little light rain and snow possible this evening, but more likely tomorrow. >> we will take it for the end of the year. we will see you back here for "good morning washington"on we